TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of this application relate to the communications field, and in particular,
to an information transmission method, a communications device, and a network device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Currently, large-scale application and deployment of wireless communications systems
can provide various types of communication, for example, voice, data, and multimedia
services, for a plurality of users.
[0003] In a current discussion process of a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE)
technology, in view of a third message, namely, a Msg3, in a random access process,
uplink user data can be transmitted in the Msg3. This involves using a media access
control protocol (Medium Access Control, MAC) random access response (Random Access
Responses, RAR).
[0004] In the prior art, when a quantity of hybrid automatic repeat request (Hybrid Automatic
Repeat Request, HARQ) retransmissions of the Msg3 reaches a maximum quantity of retransmissions,
if a base station still cannot perform decoding successfully, user equipment (User
Equipment, UE) needs to retransmit a preamble (preamble) sequence. According to the
prior art, the UE can reselect a physical random access channel (Physical Random Access
Channel, PRACH) resource only after the quantity of the retransmissions reaches the
maximum quantity of the retransmissions, to complete random access. According to the
prior art, the UE needs to perform a plurality of retransmissions, and this wastes
transmission resources.
SUMMARY
[0006] Embodiments of this application provide an information transmission method, a communications
device, and a network device, to reduce power consumption of a communications device.
The invention is defined by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous
enhancements are subject to the dependent claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0007]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of an information transmission
method according to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of interaction between a terminal device and a network
device according to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 3 is a schematic block flowchart of an information transmission method according
to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 4 is a schematic block flowchart of another information transmission method according
to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 5 is another schematic flowchart of interaction between a terminal device and
a network device according to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 6 is a schematic structural composition diagram of a terminal device according
to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 7 is a schematic structural composition diagram of a network device according
to an embodiment of this application;
FIG. 8 is a schematic structural composition diagram of another terminal device according
to an embodiment of this application; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic structural composition diagram of another network device according
to an embodiment of this application.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0008] Embodiments of this application provide an information transmission method, a communications
device, and a network device, to reduce power consumption of a communications device.
[0009] The following describes the embodiments of this application with reference to accompanying
drawings.
[0010] In the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application, the
terms "first", "second", and the like are intended to distinguish between similar
objects but do not necessarily indicate a specific order or sequence. It should be
understood that the terms used in such a way are interchangeable in appropriate circumstances,
which is merely a discrimination manner that is used when objects having a same attribute
are described in the embodiments of this application. In addition, the terms "include",
"contain" and any other variants mean to cover the non-exclusive inclusion, so that
a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of units is not
necessarily limited to those units, but may include other units not expressly listed
or inherent to such a process, method, system, product, or device.
[0011] Technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention may be applied to
various communications systems for data processing, for example, a code division multiple
access (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, a time division multiple access
(time division multiple access, TDMA) system, a frequency division multiple access
(frequency division multiple access, FDMA) system, an orthogonal frequency division
multiple access (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access, OFDMA) system, and
a single carrier frequency division multiple access (single carrier FDMA, SC-FDMA)
system, and another system. The terms "system" and "network" can be interchanged with
each other. The CDMA system can implement radio technologies such as universal terrestrial
radio access (universal terrestrial radio access, UTRA) and CDMA 2000. UTRA may include
a wideband CDMA (wideband CDMA, WCDMA) technology and another technology transformed
from CDMA. CDMA2000 may cover interim standard (interim standard, IS) 2000 (IS-2000),
IS-95, and IS-856. The TDMA system can implement wireless technologies such as global
system for mobile communications (global system for mobile communication, GSM). The
OFDMA system can implement radio technologies such as evolved universal terrestrial
radio access (evolved UTRA, E-UTRA), ultra mobile broadband (ultra mobile broadband,
UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, and Flash OFDMA. UTRA
corresponds to UMTS, and E-UTRA corresponds to an evolved version of UMTS. A new version
of UMTS, namely, E-UTRA, is used in 3GPP long term evolution (long term evolution,
LTE) and various versions evolved based on LTE. A 5th generation (5th Generation,
"5G" for short) communications system or new radio (New Radio, "NR" for short) is
a next generation communications system under study. In addition, the communications
system 100 may be further applicable to a future-oriented communications technology
which is applicable to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the
present invention. System architectures and service scenarios described in the embodiments
of the present invention are intended to describe the technical solutions in the embodiments
of the present invention more clearly, and do not constitute any limitation on the
technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention. A person
of ordinary skill in the art may know that with evolution of a network architecture
and emergence of a new service scenario, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments
of the present invention are also applicable to similar technical problems.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible radio access network (radio
access network, RAN for short) according to an embodiment of this application. The
RAN may be a base station access system of a 2G network (to be specific, the RAN includes
a base station and a base station controller), may be a base station access system
of a 3G network (to be specific, the RAN includes a base station and an RNC), may
be a base station access system of a 4G network (to be specific, the RAN includes
an eNB and an RNC), or may be a base station access system of a 5G network.
[0013] The RAN includes one or more network devices 20. The network device 20 may be any
type of device with a wireless transceiver function, or a chip disposed in a device
with a wireless transceiver function. The network device 20 includes but is not limited
to a base station (for example, a base station BS, a NodeB NodeB, an evolved NodeB
eNodeB or eNB, a gNodeB gNodeB or gNB in a 5th generation 5G communications system,
a base station in a future communications system, an access node in a Wi-Fi system,
a wireless relay node, or a wireless backhaul node) and the like. The base station
may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a picocell base station, a small
cell, a relay station, or the like. A plurality of base stations may support a network
using the foregoing one or more technologies, or a future evolved network. The core
network may support a network using the foregoing one or more technologies, or a future
evolved network. The base station may include one or more co-site or non-co-site transmission
reception points (Transmission receiving point, TRP). The network device 20 may alternatively
be a radio controller, a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU), a distributed unit
(distributed unit, DU), or the like in a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access
network, CRAN) scenario. The network device may alternatively be a server, a wearable
device, a vehicle-mounted device, or the like. That the network device 20 is a base
station is used as an example for description below. The plurality of network devices
20 may be base stations of a same type or base stations of different types. The base
station may communicate with terminal devices 1 to 6, or may communicate with the
terminal devices 1 to 6 through a relay station. The terminal devices 1 to 6 may support
communication with a plurality of base stations using different technologies. For
example, the terminal devices may support communication with a base station supporting
an LTE network, may support communication with a base station supporting a 5G network,
or may support a dual connection to a base station in an LTE network and a base station
in a 5G network. For example, the terminal is connected to a radio access network
(radio access network, RAN) node of a wireless network. Currently, for example, the
RAN node is a gNB, a transmission reception point (transmission reception point, TRP),
an evolved NodeB (evolved NodeB, eNB), a radio network controller (radio network controller,
RNC), a NodeB (NodeB, NB), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC),
a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a home base station (for
example, a home evolved NodeB or a home NodeB, HNB), a baseband unit (baseband unit,
BBU), or a wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, Wi-Fi) access point (access point,
AP). In a network structure, the network device may include a centralized unit (centralized
unit, CU) node, a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) node, or a RAN device including
a CU node and a DU node.
[0014] The communications devices 1 to 6 each are also referred to as user equipment (user
equipment, UE), a mobile station (mobile station, MS), a mobile terminal (mobile terminal,
MT), a terminal, or the like, and is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity
for a user, or is a chip disposed in the device, for example, a handheld device or
a vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. Currently, for example,
the terminal device is a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet, a notebook computer,
a palmtop computer, a mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), a wearable
device, a virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented
reality, AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control),
a wireless terminal in self-driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote
medical surgery (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in a smart grid (smart
grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless
terminal in a smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in a smart home (smart
home), or the like.
[0015] In the embodiments of this application, the base station and the UE 1 to the UE 6
form a communications system. In the communications system, the base station sends
one or more of system information, an RAR message, or a paging message to one or more
of the UE 1 to the UE 6. In addition, the UE 4 to the UE 6 also form a communications
system. In the communications system, the UE 5 may function as a base station, and
the UE 5 may send one or more of system information, control information, or a paging
message to one or more of the UE 4 and the UE 6.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of interaction between a network device and a terminal
device according to an embodiment of this application. An information transmission
method provided in this embodiment of this application mainly includes the following
steps.
[0017] 201: The network device sends first downlink control information.
[0018] The first downlink control information includes scheduling information used by the
terminal device to transmit first data.
[0019] In this embodiment of this application, the network device may send the first downlink
control information (downlink control information, DCI) to the terminal device. The
first downlink control information includes the scheduling information, and the scheduling
information may be used to schedule the first data to be transmitted by the terminal
device. The first data is a third message (namely, a message 3, which may also be
referred to as a Msg3) transmitted by the terminal device. The message 3 is a third
message in a random access process, and the message 3 may carry user data. For example,
the message 3 may support early data transmission (early data transmission, EDT).
Corresponding resources may be respectively configured for a plurality of types of
messages that can be sent by the terminal device. For example, there may be at least
two different types of messages 3 in the random access process, namely, a first message
3 and a second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may send two different types
of messages 3, and the network device may respectively configure corresponding resources
for sending different types of messages 3. For example, the first message 3 is a message
3 that does not carry user data, the first message 3 may also be referred to as a
legacy message 3 (legacy Msg3), the second message 3 is a message 3 that carries the
user data, and the second message 3 may also be referred to as an EDT Msg3. For example,
the first message 3 may be a message 3 in normal transmission. For another example,
the first message 3 may be a message 3 for which data transmission is not performed
in advance. For example, the second message 3 is a message 3 for which data transmission
is performed in advance. Data herein may be service data of the terminal device. For
example, the network device allocates specific resources based on different messages
3 sent by the terminal device. For example, the network device may allocate, to the
terminal device, a quantity of resource blocks (resource block, RB) used for the first
message 3 and an index of a start resource block, or the network device may allocate,
to the terminal device, a quantity of resource blocks used for the second message
3 and an index of a start resource block.
[0020] In this embodiment of this application, in addition to the scheduling information,
the first downlink control information may further include indication information
for the first data. The indication information is used to indicate that the first
data transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message
3, and a bit length of the indication information is 1 bit.
[0021] In this embodiment of this application, a format of the first downlink control information
is the same as that of second downlink control information, the second downlink control
information includes scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit
second data, and the second data is data different from the first data. For example,
the second data may be data transmitted when the terminal device is in connected mode,
and the first data may be data transmitted by the terminal device when the terminal
device is in idle mode in a random access process. In addition, the second downlink
control information does not include the indication information, while the first downlink
control information includes the indication information. Therefore, the indication
information may indicate, to the terminal device, whether the message 3 that needs
to be sent is the first message 3 or the second message 3. When different data needs
to be scheduled, the network device may send different downlink control information.
For example, the network device may choose to send the first downlink control information
or send the second downlink control information.
[0022] 202: The terminal device receives the first downlink control information.
[0023] The first downlink control information includes the scheduling information used by
the terminal device to transmit the first data.
[0024] In some embodiments of this application, the format of the first downlink control
information is a downlink control information DCI format 6-0A, or the format of the
first downlink control information is a DCI format 6-0B.
[0025] 203: The terminal device obtains the indication information in the first downlink
control information.
[0026] The indication information is used to indicate that the first data transmitted by
the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message 3, and the bit length
of the indication information is 1 bit. The format of the first downlink control information
is the same as that of the second downlink control information, the second downlink
control information includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device
to transmit the second data, and the second downlink control information does not
include the indication information.
[0027] In this embodiment of this application, if the first downlink control information
sent by the network device includes the indication information, the terminal device
may determine, by parsing the indication information, that the first data that the
network device indicates the terminal device to transmit is the first message 3 or
the second message 3. In this embodiment of this application, the second downlink
control information includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device
to transmit the second data, and the second data is data different from the first
data. In addition, the second downlink control information does not include the indication
information, while the first downlink control information includes the indication
information. Therefore, the terminal device may obtain the indication information
by receiving the first downlink control information, and determine, based on the indication
information, whether to send the first message 3 or the second message 3.
[0028] 204: The terminal device transmits the first data based on the scheduling information
and the indication information. In this embodiment of this application, the scheduling
information in the first downlink control information indicates a scheduling mode
of the first data, and the indication information in the first downlink control information
indicates whether the first data that needs to be transmitted is the first message
3 or the second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may transmit the first data
by using the scheduling information and the indication information. For example, the
terminal device transmits the first data through a wireless network. For example,
if the indication information indicates that the first data is the first message 3,
the terminal device may send the first message 3 based on the scheduling information
that is received this time. If the indication information indicates that the first
data is the second message 3, the terminal device may send the second message 3 based
on the scheduling information that is received this time.
[0029] It should be noted that in this embodiment of this application, the indication information
included in the first downlink control information may be included in the scheduling
information, or may not be included in the scheduling information. This depends on
an implementation scenario.
[0030] 205: The network device receives the first data transmitted by the terminal device.
[0031] In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device transmits the first data
based on the scheduling information and the indication information, and the network
device may receive, based on the scheduling information, the first data sent by the
terminal device. For example, if the indication information indicates that the first
data is the first message 3, the terminal device may send the first message 3 based
on the scheduling information that is received this time, and the network device may
receive the first message 3 sent by the terminal device. If the indication information
indicates that the first data is the second message 3, the terminal device may send
the second message 3 based on the scheduling information that is received this time,
and the network device may receive the second message 3 sent by the terminal device.
[0032] It can be learned from the example description of this application in the foregoing
embodiment that, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information,
the first downlink control information includes the scheduling information used by
the terminal device to transmit the first data, and the second downlink control information
includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit the second
data. In addition, the first downlink control information includes the indication
information, while the second downlink control information does not include the indication
information, and the format of the first downlink control information is the same
as that of the second downlink control information. The indication information in
the first downlink control information may be used to indicate that the first data
transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message 3.
Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, in view of the first downlink control
information transmitted each time, it may be determined, by using the indication information,
that the transmitted first data is the first message 3 or the second message 3, and
a quantity of transmissions does not need to reach a maximum quantity of HARQ retransmissions
configured in a network. Therefore, it may be determined whether to fall back from
transmitting the second message 3 to transmitting the first message 3, so that a fallback
latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0033] The following describes, from perspectives of a network device and a terminal device,
the information transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application.
First, refer to FIG. 3. An embodiment of this application provides an information
transmission method, including the following steps.
[0034] 301: A terminal device receives first downlink control information, where the first
downlink control information includes scheduling information used by the terminal
device to transmit first data.
[0035] In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device first receives the first
downlink control information sent by a network device. The first downlink control
information includes the scheduling information, and the scheduling information may
be used to schedule the first data to be transmitted by the terminal device. The first
data is a message transmitted by the terminal device. A message 3 is a third message
in a random access process, and the message 3 may carry user data. For example, the
message 3 may support early data transmission. Corresponding resources may be respectively
configured for a plurality of types of messages that can be sent by the terminal device.
For example, there may be at least two different types of messages 3 in the random
access process, namely, a first message 3 and a second message 3. Therefore, the terminal
device may send two different types of messages 3, and the network device may respectively
configure corresponding resources for sending different types of messages 3. For example,
the first message 3 is a message 3 that does not carry user data, and the second message
3 is a message 3 that carries the user data. For example, the first message 3 may
be a message 3 in normal transmission. For another example, the first message 3 may
be a message 3 for which data transmission is not performed in advance. For example,
the second message 3 is a message 3 for which data transmission is performed in advance.
Data herein may be service data of the terminal device.
[0036] 302: The terminal device obtains indication information in the first downlink control
information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first data
transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message 3,
the first message 3 is the message 3 that does not carry the user data, and the second
message 3 is the message 3 that carries the user data; a bit length of the indication
information is 1 bit; and a format of the first downlink control information is the
same as that of second downlink control information, the second downlink control information
includes scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit second data,
and the second downlink control information does not include the indication information.
[0037] In some embodiments of this application, the first message 3 may be a message 3 that
carries the user data, the second message 3 may be a message 3 that carries the user
data, a transport block size TBS used to transmit the first message 3 is a TBS used
when the terminal device transmits an initial message 3, and a TBS used to transmit
the second message 3 is a TB S configured by the network device. The network device
may schedule, in retransmission scheduling, the terminal device to transmit, based
on the TBS configured by the network device, the message 3 that carries the user data.
Therefore, when receiving the message 3 that carries the user data, a base station
does not need to perform blind detection, thereby reducing complexity of the network
device.
[0038] In this embodiment of this application, in addition to the scheduling information,
the first downlink control information may further include indication information
for the first data. The indication information is used to indicate that the first
data transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message
3, and a bit length of the indication information is 1 bit.
[0039] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement
level 0 or a coverage enhancement level 1, or in a coverage enhancement mode A;
the first downlink control information further includes a first resource allocation
field, and the first resource allocation field includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the first resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in
an uplink bandwidth, and the 4 bits in the first resource allocation field indicate
resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of the
narrowband; and the second downlink control information further includes a second
resource allocation field, and the second resource allocation field includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the second resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in
an uplink bandwidth, and the 5 bits in the second resource allocation field indicate
resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of the
narrowband; and/or
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is H bits,
the second downlink control information further includes a second modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is H+1
bits, and H is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; and/or
the first downlink control information does not include a channel state information
(Channel State Information, CSI) request field, and the second downlink control information
includes the CSI request field; and/or
the first downlink control information does not include a sounding reference signal
(Sounding Reference Signal, SRS) request field, and the second downlink control information
includes the SRS request field.
[0040] The mode A or a mode B of the terminal device is a classification of coverage enhancement
(coverage enhancement, CE) levels (level) in connected mode, a CE level 0/1/2/3 is
a coverage enhancement level in idle mode, the mode A corresponds to the CE level
0/1, and the mode B corresponds to the CE level 2/3.
[0041] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal device is at the coverage
enhancement level 0 or the coverage enhancement level 1, or in the coverage enhancement
mode A, the first downlink control information further includes the first resource
allocation field. For example, the first resource allocation field may be resource
allocation in a DCI format 6-0A, the first resource allocation field includes at least
the

bits,

indicates a quantity of uplink physical resource blocks (physical resource block,
PRB) that are included in a system bandwidth, └ ┘indicates a rounding down operation,
and ┌ ┐ indicates a rounding up operation. The

bits in the first resource allocation field indicate the index of the narrowband
in the uplink bandwidth, and the 4 bits in the first resource allocation field indicate
the resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of
the narrowband.
[0042] The second downlink control information further includes the second resource allocation
field, and the second resource allocation field includes at least the

bits. The

bits in the second resource allocation field indicate the index of the narrowband
in the uplink bandwidth, and the 5 bits in the second resource allocation field indicate
the resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of
the narrowband.
[0043] Therefore, the first resource allocation field in the first downlink control information
is 1 bit fewer than the second resource allocation field in the second downlink control
information, the 1 bit is used for the indication information in the first downlink
control information, and the first downlink control information and the second downlink
control information have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without
additionally increasing overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication
information in the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first
message 3 in advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption
of the terminal device is reduced.
[0044] In some embodiments of this application, the first downlink control information further
includes the first modulation and coding scheme field. For example, the first modulation
and coding scheme field is an MCS in the DCI format 6-0A, and a bit length of the
first modulation and coding scheme field is H bits. The second downlink control information
further includes the second modulation and coding scheme field, and a bit length of
the second modulation and coding scheme field is H+1 bits. H is a positive integer
greater than or equal to 1. For example, a value of H may be 3 bits, and a value of
H+ 1 is 4 bits.
[0045] Therefore, the first modulation and coding scheme field in the first downlink control
information is 1 bit fewer than the second modulation and coding scheme field in the
second downlink control information, the 1 bit is used for the indication information
in the first downlink control information, and the first downlink control information
and the second downlink control information have a same format. In this embodiment
of this application, without additionally increasing overheads of the first downlink
control information, the indication information in the first downlink control information
supports fallback to the first message 3 in advance, so that a fallback latency is
reduced, and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0046] In some embodiments of this application, the first downlink control information does
not include a CSI request field, and the second downlink control information includes
the CSI request field. For example, the CSI request field may be a CSI request in
the DCI format 6-0A. Therefore, compared with the second downlink control information,
the first downlink control information does not include the CSI request field, the
CSI request field that the first downlink control information does not include is
used for the indication information in the first downlink control information, and
the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information
have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without additionally increasing
overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication information in
the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first message 3 in
advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal
device is reduced.
[0047] For example, when a base station schedules the second message 3 or the first message
3, the base station does not schedule UE to report CSI. Therefore, the first downlink
control information may not include the CSI. The CSI request field in the DCI format
6-0A is used as the indication information, and the indication information may be
used to indicate to send the second message 3, or fall back to sending the first message
3. For example, the indication information may be used to indicate to retransmit an
EDT Msg3 or fall back to a legacy Msg3.
[0048] In some embodiments of this application, the first downlink control information does
not include an SRS request field, and the second downlink control information includes
the SRS request field. For example, the CSI request field may be an SRS request in
the DCI format 6-0A. Therefore, compared with the second downlink control information,
the first downlink control information does not include the SRS request field, the
SRS request field that the first downlink control information does not include is
used for the indication information in the first downlink control information, and
the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information
have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without additionally increasing
overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication information in
the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first message 3 in
advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal
device is reduced.
[0049] For example, when the base station schedules the EDT Msg3 or the legacy Msg 3, the
base station does not schedule the UE to send an SRS. Therefore, the first downlink
control information may not include the SRS, the SRS request field in the DCI format
6-0A is used as the indication information, and the SRS request field in the DCI format
6-0A is used to indicate retransmission of the EDT Msg3 or fallback to the legacy
Msg3.
[0050] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement
level 2 or a coverage enhancement level 3, or in a coverage enhancement mode B; and
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is T bits,
the second downlink control information further includes a second modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is T+1
bits, and T is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, a value
of T may be 3 bits, and a value of T+1 may be 4 bits.
[0051] The first modulation and coding scheme field is an MCS in a DCI format 6-0B, the
bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is T bits, the second downlink
control information further includes the second modulation and coding scheme field,
and the bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is T+1 bits. Therefore,
the first modulation and coding scheme field in the first downlink control information
is 1 bit fewer than the second modulation and coding scheme field in the second downlink
control information, the 1 bit is used for the indication information in the first
downlink control information, and the first downlink control information and the second
downlink control information have a same format. In this embodiment of this application,
without additionally increasing overheads of the first downlink control information,
the indication information in the first downlink control information supports fallback
to the first message 3 in advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power
consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0052] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement
level 2 or a coverage enhancement level 3, or in a coverage enhancement mode B; and
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, the indication information is carried by the first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is 4 bits,
and when a bit state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state in
0000 to 1010, the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the first message
3, or when a bit state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state
in 1011 to 1111, the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message
3.
[0053] The first modulation and coding scheme field is a modulation and coding scheme in
a DCI format 6-0B, and has 4 bits. When the indication information in the first downlink
control information is carried by the first modulation and coding scheme field, the
bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is 4 bits, and the bit
state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state in 0000 to 1010,
a state in 0000 to 1010 may be used to indicate that the first data transmitted by
the terminal device is the first message 3, and the bit state indicates the transport
block size of the first message 3. When the bit state of the first modulation and
coding scheme field is a state in 1011 to 1111, a state in 0000 to 1010 may be used
to indicate that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message
3. For example, a preset state 1111, a preset state 1110, or a preset state 1011 indicates
that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message 3.
[0054] In this embodiment of this application, the indication information in the first downlink
control information is carried by the first modulation and coding scheme field, and
the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information
have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without additionally increasing
overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication information in
the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first message 3 in
advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal
device is reduced.
[0055] In some embodiments of this application, when a bit state of the indication information
is a first bit state, the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on a first
TBS, or when a bit state of the indication information is a second bit state, the
terminal device sends the first message 3 or the terminal device sends the second
message 3 based on a second TBS; or
when a bit state of the indication information is a first bit state, the terminal
device sends the second message 3 based on a second TBS, or when a bit state of the
indication information is a second bit state, the terminal device sends the first
message 3 or the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on a first TBS.
[0056] The first TBS is a TBS determined based on the second TBS, and the second TBS is
a TBS configured by the network device.
[0057] That the first TBS is a TBS determined based on the second TBS may include the following
process: In an EDT process, the network device configures a largest TBS, namely, the
second TBS, for each coverage enhancement level/mode by using a system message. The
network device may further enable the UE to select a preset TBS value that corresponds
to the largest TBS and that is smaller than or equal to the largest TBS, that is,
select the first TBS smaller than or equal to the second TBS. If the network device
enables the UE to select the preset TBS value that corresponds to the largest TBS
and that is smaller than or equal to the largest TBS, during decoding, the network
device needs to blindly detect the TBS value used by the UE. If the network device
does not enable the UE to select the TBS value that corresponds to the preset largest
TBS and that is smaller than or equal to the largest TBS, the UE uses, as the first
TBS, the largest TBS configured by the network device, and sends, based on the first
TBS, the Msg3 including the user data.
[0058] For example, the second TBS may be a largest TBS configured by the network device,
and the indication information may have two bit states: the first bit state and the
second bit state. For example, the first bit state may be 0, and the second bit state
may be 1. Alternatively, the first bit state may be 1, and the second bit state may
be 0. The second message 3 carries the user data. When the bit state of the indication
information is the first bit state, the terminal device sends the second message 3
based on the first TBS. For example, the first TBS is smaller than or equal to the
largest transport block size configured by the network device. When the bit state
of the indication information is the second bit state, the terminal device sends the
first message 3 or the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on the second
TBS. In other words, when the bit state of the indication information is the second
bit state, the terminal device may fall back from transmitting the second message
3 to transmitting the first message 3, or may send the second message 3 based on the
TBS (namely, the second TBS) configured by the network device. For example, when the
bit state of the indication information is 1, it indicates that the first message
3 is transmitted, or when the bit state of the indication information is 0, it indicates
that the second message 3 is transmitted. Different bit states of the indication information
may be used to indicate the terminal whether to perform EDT fallback, to be specific,
to fall back from the EDT Msg3 to the legacy Msg3, without requiring the terminal
device to retransmit a random access preamble sequence that is used to indicate the
legacy Msg3 after the terminal device performs a plurality of HARQ retransmissions,
and the base station schedules the legacy Msg3 based on the transmitted random access
preamble sequence, so that a fallback latency is reduced and power consumption of
the terminal device is reduced.
[0059] Further, in some embodiments of this application, when the bit state of the indication
information is the first bit state, a resource allocation field in the first downlink
control information includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in an uplink
bandwidth, and the X bits in the resource allocation field indicate resource allocation
within the narrowband; or
when the bit state of the indication information is the second bit state, a resource
allocation field in the first downlink control information includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in an uplink
bandwidth, the first downlink control information further includes Y bits, each of
M×L states of the Y bits indicates that the first data transmitted by the terminal
device is the first message 3, and each of the M×L states of the Y bits indicates
a modulation and coding scheme and resource allocation within the narrowband, where
there are a total of M resource allocation modes of the resource allocation within
the narrowband, there are a total of L indexes of the modulation and coding scheme,
M and L are positive integers, one or more other states than the M×L states of the
Y bits indicate that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second
message 3.
[0060] For example, when the terminal device is at the coverage enhancement level 0 or the
coverage enhancement level 1, or in the coverage enhancement mode A, and the bit state
of the indication information is 0, a length of the resource allocation field in the
first downlink control information is

bits. When the bit state of the indication information is 1, the first downlink control
information includes 8 bits, the 8 bits indicate 256 states, and 252 states of the
256 states are used to indicate combinations of the modulation and coding scheme and
the resource allocation within the narrowband. There are 21 states of the resource
allocation within the narrowband, and there are a total of 12 index values including
K to (K+10) and M for the coding scheme. When the bit state indicates that the index
value of the modulation and coding scheme is one value in K to (K+10), the terminal
device transmits the first message 3, or when the index value of the modulation and
coding scheme is M, the terminal device transmits the second message 3. K and M are
integers. For example, K is 0, and M is 11.
[0061] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, states of the MCS
in the prior art are limited from 16 to 12, and the 21 states of the resource allocation
within the narrowband are still maintained. In this case, there are 12x21=252 states,
and 8 bits are required for joint coding by using the MCS and the resource allocation.
Compared with 4 bits of the MCS in the prior art, 5 bits are for the resource allocation
within the narrowband. In other words, there are a total of 9 bits in the prior art.
In this embodiment of this application, only 8 bits are required after the MCS and
the resource allocation are jointly encoded. Therefore, 1 bit can be saved. The 1
bit that is saved is used as the indication information. For example, the indication
information may be a flag (flag). If the flag is 0, it indicates EDT retransmission,
and a TBS size for the retransmission is adaptively selected by the UE. If the flag
is 1 and the indicated index value of the MCS is a predefined value A, it indicates
EDT retransmission, and a retransmitted TBS is a largest TBS configured by the network
device. If the flag is 1 and index values of the MCS that are indicated are 11 values
other than the value A in the 12 values of the MCS, it indicates that the EDT Msg3
falls back to the legacy Msg3. In this case, the transport block size of the legacy
Msg3 is determined based on the indicated index value of the MCS.
[0062] For example, when the terminal device is at the coverage enhancement level 2 or the
coverage enhancement level 3, or in the coverage enhancement mode B, and the bit state
of the indication information is 0, a length of the resource allocation field in the
first downlink control information is

bits. When the bit state of the indication information is 1, the first downlink control
information includes 6 bits, the 6 bits indicate 64 states, and the 64 states are
used to indicate combinations of the modulation and coding scheme and the resource
allocation within the narrowband. There are 8 states of the resource allocation within
the narrowband, and there are a total of 8 index values including Q to (Q+6) and S
for the coding scheme. When the index value of the modulation and coding scheme is
one value in Q to (Q+6), the terminal device transmits the first message 3, or when
the index value of the modulation and coding scheme is S, the terminal device transmits
the second message 3. Q and S are integers. For example, Q=0, and S=7.
[0063] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, existing states
of the MCS may be limited from 11 to 8, and the 8 states of the resource allocation
within the narrowband are still maintained. In this case, there are 8x8=64 states,
and 6 bits are required for joint coding by using the MCS and the resource allocation.
Compared with the existing 4 bits that are needed for the MCS value, 3 bits are needed
for the resource allocation within the narrowband, and 1 bit is saved in this embodiment
of this application. The 1 bit that is saved is used as the indication information.
For example, the indication information may be a flag. If the flag is 0, it indicates
EDT retransmission, and a TBS size for the retransmission is adaptively selected by
the UE. If the flag is 1 and the indicated index value of the MCS is a predefined
value B, it indicates EDT retransmission, and a retransmitted TBS is a largest TBS
configured by the network device. If the flag is 1 and index values of the MCS that
are indicated are the other 7 values in the 8 values of the MCS, it indicates that
the EDT Msg3 falls back to the legacy Msg3. In this case, the transport block size
of the legacy Msg3 is determined based on the index value of the MCS.
[0064] 303: The terminal device transmits the first data based on the scheduling information
and the indication information. In this embodiment of this application, the scheduling
information in the first downlink control information indicates a scheduling mode
of the first data, and the indication information in the first downlink control information
indicates whether the first data that needs to be transmitted is the first message
3 or the second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may transmit the first data
by using the scheduling information and the indication information. For example, the
terminal device transmits the first data through a wireless network. For example,
if the indication information indicates that the first data is the first message 3,
the terminal device may send the first message 3 based on the scheduling information
that is received this time. If the indication information indicates that the first
data is the second message 3, the terminal device may send the second message 3 based
on the scheduling information that is received this time.
[0065] It can be learned from the example description of this application in the foregoing
embodiment that, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information,
the first downlink control information includes the scheduling information used by
the terminal device to transmit the first data, and the second downlink control information
includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit the second
data. In addition, the first downlink control information includes the indication
information, while the second downlink control information does not include the indication
information, and the format of the first downlink control information is the same
as that of the second downlink control information. The indication information in
the first downlink control information may be used to indicate that the first data
transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message 3.
Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, in view of the first downlink control
information transmitted each time, it may be determined, by using the indication information,
that the transmitted first data is the first message 3 or the second message 3, and
a quantity of transmissions does not need to reach a maximum quantity of HARQ retransmissions
configured in a network. Therefore, it may be determined whether to fall back from
transmitting the second message 3 to transmitting the first message 3, so that a fallback
latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0066] The foregoing embodiment describes, from the perspective of the terminal device,
the information transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application.
The following describes, from a perspective of a network device, the information transmission
method provided in the embodiments of this application. Referring to FIG. 4, an embodiment
of this application provides an information transmission method, including the following
steps.
[0067] 401: A network device sends first downlink control information, where the first downlink
control information includes scheduling information used by a terminal device to transmit
first data, the first downlink control information includes indication information,
the indication information is used to indicate that the first data transmitted by
the terminal device is a first message 3 or a second message 3, the first message
3 is the message 3 that does not carry user data, and the second message 3 is the
message 3 that carries the user data; a bit length of the indication information is
1 bit; and a format of the first downlink control information is the same as that
of second downlink control information, the second downlink control information includes
scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit second data, and the
second downlink control information does not include the indication information.
[0068] In this embodiment of this application, in addition to the scheduling information,
the first downlink control information may further include indication information
for the first data. The indication information is used to indicate that the first
data transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message
3, and a bit length of the indication information is 1 bit.
[0069] In some embodiments of this application, the first message 3 may be a message 3 that
carries the user data, the second message 3 may be a message 3 that carries the user
data, a transport block size TBS used to transmit the first message 3 is a TBS used
when the terminal device transmits an initial message 3, and a TBS used to transmit
the second message 3 is a TB S configured by the network device. The network device
may schedule, in retransmission scheduling, the terminal device to transmit, based
on the TBS configured by the network device, the message 3 that carries the user data.
Therefore, when receiving the message 3 that carries the user data, a base station
does not need to perform blind detection, thereby reducing complexity of the network
device.
[0070] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement
level 0 or a coverage enhancement level 1, or in a coverage enhancement mode A;
the first downlink control information further includes a first resource allocation
field, and the first resource allocation field includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the first resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in
an uplink bandwidth, and the 4 bits in the first resource allocation field indicate
resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of the
narrowband; and the second downlink control information further includes a second
resource allocation field, and the second resource allocation field includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the second resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in
an uplink bandwidth, and the 5 bits in the second resource allocation field indicate
resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of the
narrowband; and/or
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is H bits,
the second downlink control information further includes a second modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is H+1
bits, and H is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, for example, a value
of H may be 3 bits, and a value of H+1 may be 4 bits; and/or
the first downlink control information does not include a channel state information
(Channel State Information, CSI) request field, and the second downlink control information
includes the CSI request field; and/or
the first downlink control information does not include a sounding reference signal
(Sounding Reference Signal, SRS) request field, and the second downlink control information
includes the SRS request field.
[0071] The mode A or a mode B of the terminal device is a classification of coverage enhancement
(coverage enhancement, CE) levels (level) in connected mode, a CE level 0/1/2/3 is
a coverage enhancement level in idle mode, the mode A corresponds to the CE level
0/1, and the mode B corresponds to the CE level 2/3.
[0072] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal device is at the coverage
enhancement level 0 or the coverage enhancement level 1, or in the coverage enhancement
mode A, the first downlink control information further includes the first resource
allocation field. For example, the first resource allocation field may be resource
allocation in a DCI format 6-0A, the first resource allocation field includes at least
the

bits,

indicates a quantity of uplink physical resource blocks (physical resource block,
PRB) that are included in a system bandwidth, └ ┘indicates a rounding down operation,
and ┌ ┐ indicates a rounding up operation. The

bits in the first resource allocation field indicate the index of the narrowband
in the uplink bandwidth, and the 4 bits in the first resource allocation field indicate
the resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of
the narrowband.
[0073] The second downlink control information further includes the second resource allocation
field, and the second resource allocation field includes at least the

bits. The

bits in the second resource allocation field indicate the index of the narrowband
in the uplink bandwidth, and the 5 bits in the second resource allocation field indicate
the resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of
the narrowband.
[0074] Therefore, the first resource allocation field in the first downlink control information
is 1 bit fewer than the second resource allocation field in the second downlink control
information, the 1 bit is used for the indication information in the first downlink
control information, and the first downlink control information and the second downlink
control information have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without
additionally increasing overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication
information in the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first
message 3 in advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption
of the terminal device is reduced.
[0075] In some embodiments of this application, the first downlink control information further
includes the first modulation and coding scheme field. For example, the first modulation
and coding scheme field is an MCS in the DCI format 6-0A, and a bit length of the
first modulation and coding scheme field is H bits. The second downlink control information
further includes the second modulation and coding scheme field, and a bit length of
the second modulation and coding scheme field is H+1 bits. H is a positive integer
greater than or equal to 1.
[0076] Therefore, the first modulation and coding scheme field in the first downlink control
information is 1 bit fewer than the second modulation and coding scheme field in the
second downlink control information, the 1 bit is used for the indication information
in the first downlink control information, and the first downlink control information
and the second downlink control information have a same format. In this embodiment
of this application, without additionally increasing overheads of the first downlink
control information, the indication information in the first downlink control information
supports fallback to the first message 3 in advance, so that a fallback latency is
reduced, and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0077] In some embodiments of this application, the first downlink control information does
not include a CSI request field, and the second downlink control information includes
the CSI request field. For example, the CSI request field may be a CSI request in
the DCI format 6-0A. Therefore, compared with the second downlink control information,
the first downlink control information does not include the CSI request field, the
CSI request field that the first downlink control information does not include is
used for the indication information in the first downlink control information, and
the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information
have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without additionally increasing
overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication information in
the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first message 3 in
advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal
device is reduced.
[0078] For example, when a base station schedules the second message 3 or the first message
3, the base station does not schedule UE to report CSI. Therefore, the first downlink
control information may not include the CSI. The CSI request field in the DCI format
6-0A is used as the indication information, and the indication information may be
used to indicate to send the second message 3, or fall back to sending the first message
3. For example, the indication information may be used to indicate to retransmit an
EDT Msg3 or fall back to a legacy Msg3.
[0079] In some embodiments of this application, the first downlink control information does
not include an SRS request field, and the second downlink control information includes
the SRS request field. For example, the CSI request field may be an SRS request in
the DCI format 6-0A. Therefore, compared with the second downlink control information,
the first downlink control information does not include the SRS request field, the
SRS request field that the first downlink control information does not include is
used for the indication information in the first downlink control information, and
the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information
have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without additionally increasing
overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication information in
the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first message 3 in
advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal
device is reduced.
[0080] For example, when the base station schedules the EDT Msg3 or the legacy Msg 3, the
base station does not schedule the UE to send an SRS. Therefore, the first downlink
control information may not include the SRS, the SRS request field in the DCI format
6-0A is used as the indication information, and the SRS request field in the DCI format
6-0A is used to indicate retransmission of the EDT Msg3 or fallback to the legacy
Msg3.
[0081] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement
level 2 or a coverage enhancement level 3, or in a coverage enhancement mode B; and
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is T bits,
the second downlink control information further includes a second modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is T+1
bits, and T is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, a value
of T may be 3 bits, and a value of T+1 may be 4 bits.
[0082] The first modulation and coding scheme field is an MCS in a DCI format 6-0B, the
bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is T bits, the second downlink
control information further includes the second modulation and coding scheme field,
and the bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is T+1 bits. Therefore,
the first modulation and coding scheme field in the first downlink control information
is 1 bit fewer than the second modulation and coding scheme field in the second downlink
control information, the 1 bit is used for the indication information in the first
downlink control information, and the first downlink control information and the second
downlink control information have a same format. In this embodiment of this application,
without additionally increasing overheads of the first downlink control information,
the indication information in the first downlink control information supports fallback
to the first message 3 in advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power
consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0083] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement
level 2 or a coverage enhancement level 3, or in a coverage enhancement mode B; and
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, the indication information is carried by the first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is 4 bits,
and when a bit state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state in
0000 to 1010, the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the first message
3, or when a bit state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state
in 1011 to 1111, the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message
3.
[0084] The first modulation and coding scheme field is a modulation and coding scheme in
a DCI format 6-0B, and has 4 bits. When the indication information in the first downlink
control information is carried by the first modulation and coding scheme field, the
bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is 4 bits, and the bit
state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state in 0000 to 1010,
a state in 0000 to 1010 may be used to indicate that the first data transmitted by
the terminal device is the first message 3, and the bit state indicates the transport
block size of the first message 3. When the bit state of the first modulation and
coding scheme field is a state in 1011 to 1111, a state in 0000 to 1010 may be used
to indicate that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message
3. For example, a preset state 1111, a preset state 1110, or a preset state 1011 indicates
that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message 3.
[0085] In this embodiment of this application, the indication information in the first downlink
control information is carried by the first modulation and coding scheme field, and
the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information
have a same format. In this embodiment of this application, without additionally increasing
overheads of the first downlink control information, the indication information in
the first downlink control information supports fallback to the first message 3 in
advance, so that a fallback latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal
device is reduced.
[0086] In some embodiments of this application, when a bit state of the indication information
is a first bit state, the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on a first
TBS, or when a bit state of the indication information is a second bit state, the
terminal device sends the first message 3 or the terminal device sends the second
message 3 based on a second TBS; or
when a bit state of the indication information is a first bit state, the terminal
device sends the second message 3 based on a second TBS, or when a bit state of the
indication information is a second bit state, the terminal device sends the first
message 3 or the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on a first TBS.
[0087] The first TBS is a TBS determined based on the second TBS, and the second TBS is
a TBS configured by the network device.
[0088] That the first TBS is a TBS determined based on the second TBS may include the following
process: In an EDT process, the network device configures a largest TBS, namely, the
second TBS, for each coverage enhancement level/mode by using a system message. The
network device may further enable the UE to select a preset TBS value that corresponds
to the largest TBS and that is smaller than or equal to the largest TBS, that is,
select the first TBS smaller than or equal to the second TBS. If the network device
enables the UE to select the preset TBS value that corresponds to the largest TBS
and that is smaller than or equal to the largest TBS, during decoding, the network
device needs to blindly detect the TBS value used by the UE. If the network device
does not enable the UE to select the TBS value that corresponds to the preset largest
TBS and that is smaller than or equal to the largest TBS, the UE uses, as the first
TBS, the largest TBS configured by the network device, and sends, based on the first
TBS, the Msg3 including the user data.
[0089] For example, the second TBS may be a largest TBS configured by the network device,
and the indication information may have two bit states: the first bit state and the
second bit state. For example, the first bit state may be 0, and the second bit state
may be 1. Alternatively, the first bit state may be 1, and the second bit state may
be 0. The second message 3 carries the user data. When the bit state of the indication
information is the first bit state, the terminal device sends the second message 3
based on the first TBS. For example, the first TBS is smaller than or equal to the
largest transport block size configured by the network device. When the bit state
of the indication information is the second bit state, the terminal device sends the
first message 3 or the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on the second
TBS. In other words, when the bit state of the indication information is the second
bit state, the terminal device may fall back from transmitting the second message
3 to transmitting the first message 3, or may send the second message 3 based on the
TBS (namely, the second TBS) configured by the network device. For example, when the
bit state of the indication information is 1, it indicates that the first message
3 is transmitted, or when the bit state of the indication information is 0, it indicates
that the second message 3 is transmitted. Different bit states of the indication information
may be used to indicate the terminal whether to perform EDT fallback, to be specific,
to fall back from the EDT Msg3 to the legacy Msg3, without requiring the terminal
device to retransmit a random access preamble sequence that is used to indicate the
legacy Msg3 after the terminal device performs a plurality of HARQ retransmissions,
and the base station schedules the legacy Msg3 based on the transmitted random access
preamble sequence, so that a fallback latency is reduced and power consumption of
the terminal device is reduced.
[0090] Further, in some embodiments of this application, when the bit state of the indication
information is the first bit state, a resource allocation field in the first downlink
control information includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in an uplink
bandwidth, and the X bits in the resource allocation field indicate resource allocation
within the narrowband; or
when the bit state of the indication information is the second bit state, a resource
allocation field in the first downlink control information includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in an uplink
bandwidth, the first downlink control information further includes Y bits, each of
M×L states of the Y bits indicates that the first data transmitted by the terminal
device is the first message 3, and each of the M×L states of the Y bits indicates
a modulation and coding scheme and resource allocation within a narrowband, where
there are a total of M resource allocation modes of the resource allocation within
the narrowband, there are a total of L indexes of the modulation and coding scheme,
M and L are positive integers, one or more other states than the M×L states of the
Y bits indicate that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second
message 3.
[0091] For example, when the terminal device is at the coverage enhancement level 0 or the
coverage enhancement level 1, or in the coverage enhancement mode A, and the bit state
of the indication information is 0, a length of the resource allocation field in the
first downlink control information is

bits. When the bit state of the indication information is 1, the first downlink control
information includes 8 bits, the 8 bits indicate 256 states, and 252 states of the
256 states are used to indicate combinations of the modulation and coding scheme and
the resource allocation within the narrowband. There are 21 states of the resource
allocation within the narrowband, and there are a total of 12 index values including
K to (K+10) and M for the coding scheme. When the bit state indicates that the index
value of the modulation and coding scheme is one value in K to (K+10), the terminal
device transmits the first message 3, or when the index value of the modulation and
coding scheme is M, the terminal device transmits the second message 3. K and M are
integers. For example, K is 0, and M is 11.
[0092] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, states of the MCS
in the prior art are limited from 16 to 12, and the 21 states of the resource allocation
within the narrowband are still maintained. In this case, there are 12x21=252 states,
and 8 bits are required for joint coding by using the MCS and the resource allocation.
Compared with 4 bits of the MCS in the prior art, 5 bits are for the resource allocation
within the narrowband. In other words, there are a total of 9 bits in the prior art.
In this embodiment of this application, only 8 bits are required after the MCS and
the resource allocation are jointly encoded. Therefore, 1 bit can be saved. The 1
bit that is saved is used as the indication information. For example, the indication
information may be a flag (flag). If the flag is 0, it indicates EDT retransmission,
and a TBS size for the retransmission is adaptively selected by the UE. If the flag
is 1 and the indicated index value of the MCS is a predefined value A, it indicates
EDT retransmission, and a retransmitted TBS is a largest TBS configured by the network
device. If the flag is 1 and index values of the MCS that are indicated are 11 values
other than the value A in the 12 values of the MCS, it indicates that the EDT Msg3
falls back to the legacy Msg3. In this case, the transport block size of the legacy
Msg3 is determined based on the indicated index value of the MCS.
[0093] For example, when the terminal device is at the coverage enhancement level 2 or the
coverage enhancement level 3, or in the coverage enhancement mode B, and the bit state
of the indication information is 0, a length of the resource allocation field in the
first downlink control information is

bits. When the bit state of the indication information is 1, the first downlink control
information includes 6 bits, the 6 bits indicate 64 states, and the 64 states are
used to indicate combinations of the modulation and coding scheme and the resource
allocation within the narrowband. There are 8 states of the resource allocation within
the narrowband, and there are a total of 8 index values including Q to (Q+6) and S
for the coding scheme. When the index value of the modulation and coding scheme is
one value in Q to (Q+6), the terminal device transmits the first message 3, or when
the index value of the modulation and coding scheme is S, the terminal device transmits
the second message 3. Q and S are integers. For example, Q=0, and S=7.
[0094] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, existing states
of the MCS may be limited from 11 to 8, and the 8 states of the resource allocation
within the narrowband are still maintained. In this case, there are 8x8=64 states,
and 6 bits are required for joint coding by using the MCS and the resource allocation.
Compared with the existing 4 bits that are needed for the MCS value, 3 bits are needed
for the resource allocation within the narrowband, and 1 bit is saved in this embodiment
of this application. The 1 bit that is saved is used as the indication information.
For example, the indication information may be a flag. If the flag is 0, it indicates
EDT retransmission, and a TBS size for the retransmission is adaptively selected by
the UE. If the flag is 1 and the indicated index value of the MCS is a predefined
value B, it indicates EDT retransmission, and a retransmitted TBS is a largest TBS
configured by the network device. If the flag is 1 and index values of the MCS that
are indicated are the other 7 values in the 8 values of the MCS, it indicates that
the EDT Msg3 falls back to the legacy Msg3. In this case, the transport block size
of the legacy Msg3 is determined based on the index value of the MCS.
[0095] 402: The network device receives the first data transmitted by the terminal device.
[0096] In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device transmits the first data
based on the scheduling information and the indication information, and the network
device may receive, based on the scheduling information, the first data sent by the
terminal device. For example, if the indication information indicates that the first
data is the first message 3, the terminal device may send the first message 3 based
on the scheduling information that is received this time, and the network device may
receive the first message 3 sent by the terminal device. If the indication information
indicates that the first data is the second message 3, the terminal device may send
the second message 3 based on the scheduling information that is received this time,
and the network device may receive the second message 3 sent by the terminal device.
[0097] It can be learned from the example description of this application in the foregoing
embodiment that, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information,
the first downlink control information includes the scheduling information used by
the terminal device to transmit the first data, and the second downlink control information
includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit the second
data. In addition, the first downlink control information includes the indication
information, while the second downlink control information does not include the indication
information, and the format of the first downlink control information is the same
as that of the second downlink control information. The indication information in
the first downlink control information may be used to indicate that the first data
transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message 3.
Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, in view of the first downlink control
information transmitted each time, it may be determined, by using the indication information,
that the transmitted first data is the first message 3 or the second message 3, and
a quantity of transmissions does not need to reach a maximum quantity of HARQ retransmissions
configured in a network. Therefore, it may be determined whether to fall back from
transmitting the second message 3 to transmitting the first message 3, so that a fallback
latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0098] The foregoing embodiments describes the information transmission method provided
in the embodiments of this application. Referring to FIG. 5, another information transmission
method implemented through interaction between a terminal device and a network device
according to an embodiment of this application includes the following steps. 501:
A network device sends downlink control information, where the downlink control information
includes scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit first data.
[0099] In this embodiment of this application, the network device sends the downlink control
information. The downlink control information includes the scheduling information,
and the scheduling information may be used to schedule the first data to be transmitted
by the terminal device. The first data is a message transmitted by the terminal device.
A message 3 is a third message in a random access process, and the message 3 may carry
user data. For example, the message 3 may support early data transmission. Corresponding
resources may be respectively configured for a plurality of types of messages that
can be sent by the terminal device. For example, there may be at least two different
types of messages 3 in the random access process, namely, a first message 3 and a
second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may send two different types of messages
3, and the network device may respectively configure corresponding resources for sending
different types of messages 3. For example, the first message 3 is a message 3 that
does not carry user data, and the second message 3 is a message 3 that carries the
user data. For example, the first message 3 may be a message 3 in normal transmission.
For another example, the first message 3 may be a message 3 for which data transmission
is not performed in advance. For example, the second message 3 is a message 3 for
which data transmission is performed in advance. Data herein may be service data of
the terminal device.
[0100] 502: The terminal device receives the downlink control information, where the downlink
control information includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device
to transmit the first data.
[0101] In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device first receives the downlink
control information sent by the network device. The downlink control information includes
the scheduling information, and the scheduling information may be used to schedule
the first data to be transmitted by the terminal device. The first data is a message
transmitted by the terminal device. A message 3 is a third message in a random access
process, and the message 3 may carry user data. For example, the message 3 may support
early data transmission. Corresponding resources may be respectively configured for
a plurality of types of messages that can be sent by the terminal device. For example,
there may be at least two different types of messages 3 in the random access process,
namely, a first message 3 and a second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may
send two different types of messages 3, and the network device may respectively configure
corresponding resources for sending different types of messages 3. For example, the
first message 3 is a message 3 that does not carry user data, and the second message
3 is a message 3 that carries the user data. For example, the first message 3 may
be a message 3 in normal transmission. For another example, the first message 3 may
be a message 3 for which data transmission is not performed in advance. For example,
the second message 3 is a message 3 for which data transmission is performed in advance.
Data herein may be service data of the terminal device.
[0102] 503: The terminal device determines a first transport block size TBS based on the
downlink control information, where when the first TBS is smaller than or equal to
a second TBS, step 504 and step 505 are triggered, or when the first TBS is larger
than a second TBS, step 506 and step 507 are triggered.
[0103] 504: When the first TBS is smaller than or equal to the second TBS, the first data
transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3.
[0104] 505: The network device receives the first message 3 transmitted by the terminal
device.
[0105] 506: When the first TBS is larger than the second TBS, the first data transmitted
by the terminal device is the second message 3.
[0106] 507: The network device receives the second message 3 transmitted by the terminal
device.
[0107] The second TBS is a preset transport block size, or a transport block size configured
by using system information, or a transport block size configured by using radio resource
control signaling.
[0108] In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device determines the first
transport block size based on the downlink control information. The terminal device
sends the first message 3 when the first TBS is smaller than or equal to the second
TBS, or sends the second message 3 when the first TBS is larger than the second TBS.
The second TBS is a preset transport block size, a transport block size broadcast
in a system message, or a transport block size broadcast in a mobility control message.
For example, the network device may indicate, to the terminal device in an implicit
indication manner, that a type of the first data is the first message 3 or the second
message 3. For example, the network device may indicate the type of the first data
by using a transport block size (transport block size, TBS), and determine the type
of the first data based on the first TBS configured by the network device in DCI and
the preset second TBS. The second TBS may be the TBS that is broadcast in the system
message or the mobility control message sent by the network device, or the second
TBS may be a preset TBS. If the first TBS is smaller than or equal to the second TBS,
the terminal device falls back to a legacy Msg3. Otherwise, EDT Msg3 is transmitted.
[0109] Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the TBS carried in the downlink
control information may be used to determine whether the transmitted first data is
the first message 3 or the second message 3, and a quantity of transmissions does
not need to reach a maximum quantity of HARQ retransmissions configured in a network.
Therefore, it may be determined whether to fall back from transmitting the second
message 3 to transmitting the first message 3, so that a fallback latency is reduced,
and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0110] For better understanding and implementation of the foregoing solution of the embodiment
of the present invention, the following provides detailed description by using a corresponding
application scenario as an example.
[0111] In the prior art, when the quantity of HARQ retransmissions of the Msg3 reaches the
maximum quantity, if a base station still cannot perform decoding successfully, UE
needs to return to the first step, that is, retransmit a preamble sequence. According
to an existing standard, if the UE intends to fall back to transmitting the legacy
Msg3, the UE can reselect, only after the quantity of the retransmissions reaches
the maximum quantity of the HARQ retransmissions, a PRACH resource used to indicate
the legacy Msg3, to perform legacy random access. In the existing standard, when the
UE falls back from the EDT Msg3 to the legacy Msg 3, the maximum quantity of the HARQ
retransmissions needs to be reached. Consequently, a latency is large, and power consumption
is high.
[0112] In this embodiment of this application, when the UE transmits the EDT Msg3 unsuccessfully
or the initial access load is relatively heavy, a DCI format 6-0A/B is used to indicate,
when the quantity of the transmissions performed by the UE does not reach the maximum
quantity of the HARQ retransmissions configured by the network, the EDT Msg3 to fall
back to transmitting the legacy Msg3, in this way, a fallback latency is reduced,
and power consumption of the UE is reduced.
[0113] In this embodiment of this application, the following solutions are used:
- 1. The lowest/highest bit in 5 low bits of the resource allocation in the DCI format
6-0A is used to indicate the fallback of mode AEDT Msg3 to the legacy Msg3.
- 2. A newly added bit used to indicate sub-PRB resource allocation is used to indicate
EDT fallback.
- 3. A preset MCS state is used to indicate the EDT fallback, and the mode B uses an
unused state.
- 4. The fallback is implicitly indicated based on a comparison between a TBS configured
by the network in DCI and a TBS that is preset or broadcast in a system message/mobility
control message.
[0114] A network element involved in the embodiments of the present invention includes a
base station and UE. The base station is an entity configured to send or receive a
signal on a network side. The UE may be any terminal. For example, the UE is user
equipment for machine type communication.
[0115] First, an example in which the terminal device is in the mode A is used.
[0116] In an embodiment, during initial transmission scheduling of the EDT Msg3/legacy Msg3,
only

bits are used, where

high bits indicate an index of a narrowband in a system bandwidth. For the initial
transmission scheduling of the legacy Msg3, 4 low bits indicate scheduling of 1, 2,
3, or 6 PRBs within the narrowband. For the initial transmission scheduling of the
EDT Msg3, the 4 low bits indicate scheduling of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 PRBs within the narrowband.
Therefore, a remaining 1 bit in the resource allocation field is not used.
[0117] Therefore, the lowest/highest bit in the 5 low bits of the

bits of the resource allocation field in the DCI format 6-0A is used to indicate
whether the EDT fallback is performed. For example,
if the lowest/highest bit is 0, it indicates retransmission of the EDT Msg3, and in
this case, the DCI is retransmission scheduling information of the EDT Msg3; or
if the lowest/highest bit is 1, it indicates fallback to the legacy Msg3, and in this
case, DCI is scheduling information of the legacy Msg3.
[0118] In another embodiment, according to an existing standard, during initial transmission
scheduling of the legacy Msg3 in an MAC RAR, an MCS range is from 0 to 7. During scheduling
of the EDT Msg3, an MCS does not need to be indicated (where a largest TBS is configured
in a network, the UE uses the largest TBS or selects a TBS from a preset set corresponding
to the largest TBS, to send the EDT Msg3, and the base station blindly detects the
TBS when receiving the EDT Msg3). Therefore, the preset MCS state is used to indicate
the EDT fallback. MCS indexes 0 to 7 indicate fallback, and MCS indexes 8 to 15 indicate
EDT retransmission scheduling.
[0119] In another embodiment, based on a comparison between a TBS configured by the network
device in DCI and a TBS that is preset or broadcast in a system message/mobility control
message, if the TBS is smaller than or equal to the TBS that is preset or broadcast
in the system message/mobility control message, the terminal device falls back to
the legacy Msg3; otherwise, the EDT Msg3 is transmitted.
[0120] In another embodiment, to support sub-PRB resource allocation, 2 or 3 bits are newly
added to the resource allocation field. Therefore, the newly added bits used to indicate
the sub-PRB resource allocation may be used to indicate whether the EDT fallback is
performed.
[0121] In another embodiment, when the base station schedules the EDT Msg3 or the legacy
Msg 3, the base station does not schedule the UE to report channel state information
(channel state information, CSI). A CSI field in the DCI format 6-0A is used to indicate
retransmission of the EDT Msg3 or fallback to the legacy Msg3.
[0122] In another embodiment, when the base station schedules the EDT Msg3 or the legacy
Msg 3, the base station does not schedule the UE to send a sounding reference signal
(Sounding Reference Signal, SRS). An SRS request field in the DCI format 6-0A is used
to indicate retransmission of the EDT Msg3 or fallback to the legacy Msg3.
[0123] In another embodiment, existing states of the MCS are limited from 16 to 12, and
the 21 states of the resource allocation within the narrowband are still maintained.
In this case, there are 12x21=252 states, and 8 bits are required for joint coding
by using the MCS and the resource allocation. Compared with the existing 4 bits of
the MCS, 5 bits are for the resource allocation within the narrowband, and 1 bit is
saved. The 1 bit that is saved is used as a flag. If the flag is 0, it indicates EDT
retransmission, and a TBS size for the retransmission is adaptively selected by the
UE. If the flag is 1 and the indicated index value of the MCS is a predefined value
A, it indicates EDT retransmission, and a retransmitted TBS is a largest TBS configured
by the network device. If the flag is 1 and index values of the MCS that are indicated
are the other 11 values in the 12 values of the MCS, it indicates that the EDT Msg3
falls back to the legacy Msg3. In this case, the transport block size of the legacy
Msg3 is determined based on the index value of the MCS.
[0124] It can be learned from the foregoing example description that a memory in the base
station and a memory on a UE side need to store a preset state of the MCS used to
indicate fallback. The base station and the UE side need to perform the comparison
and decision processes in Embodiments 1 to 3. This supports fallback to the legacy
Msg3 in advance without additionally increasing DCI overheads, thereby reducing a
latency and power consumption.
[0125] The following uses an example in which the terminal device is in the mode B.
[0126] In an embodiment, because the MCS supports only states 0 to 10, in an existing standard,
there are 5 MCS states unused, and one or more of the 5 unused MCS states are used
to indicate the EDT fallback.
[0127] In another embodiment, based on a comparison between a TBS configured by the network
device in DCI and a TBS that is preset or broadcast in a system message/mobility control
message, if the TBS is smaller than or equal to the TBS that is preset or broadcast
in the system message/mobility control message, the terminal device falls back to
the legacy Msg3; otherwise, the EDT Msg3 is transmitted.
[0128] In another embodiment, to support sub-PRB resource allocation, 2 or 3 bits are newly
added to the resource allocation field. Therefore, the newly added bits used to indicate
the sub-PRB resource allocation may be used to indicate whether the EDT fallback is
performed.
[0129] In another embodiment, existing states of the MCS are limited from 11 to 8, and 8
states of the resource allocation within the narrowband are still maintained. In this
case, there are 8x8=64 states, and 6 bits are required for joint coding by using the
MCS and the resource allocation. Compared with the existing 4 bits of the MCS, 3 bits
are for the resource allocation within the narrowband, and 1 bit is saved. The 1 bit
that is saved is used as a flag. If the flag is 0, it indicates EDT retransmission,
and a TBS size for the retransmission is adaptively selected by the UE. If the flag
is 1 and the indicated index value of the MCS is a predefined value B, it indicates
EDT retransmission, and a retransmitted TBS is a largest TBS configured by the network
device. If the flag is 1 and index values of the MCS that are indicated are the other
7 values in the 8 values of the MCS, it indicates that the EDT Msg3 falls back to
the legacy Msg3. In this case, the transport block size of the legacy Msg3 is determined
based on the index value of the MCS.
[0130] It can be learned from the foregoing example description that a memory in a base
station and a memory on a UE side need to store the state of the MCS used to indicate
the fallback. The base station and the UE side need to perform the comparison and
the decision processes. This supports fallback to the legacy Msg3 in advance without
additionally increasing DCI overheads, thereby reducing a latency and power consumption.
[0131] It should be noted that, to make the description brief, the method embodiments are
expressed as a series of actions. However, a person skilled in the art should appreciate
that the present invention is not limited to the described action sequence, because
according to the present invention, some steps may be performed in other sequences
or performed simultaneously. In addition, a person skilled in the art should also
appreciate that all the embodiments described in the specification are used as examples,
and the related actions and modules are not necessarily mandatory to the present invention.
[0132] The following further provides related apparatuses configured to implement the foregoing
solutions, to better implement the foregoing solutions in the embodiments of this
application.
[0133] An embodiment of this application provides a terminal device. As shown in FIG. 6,
a terminal device 600 includes:
a receiving module 601, configured to receive first downlink control information,
where the first downlink control information includes scheduling information used
by the terminal device to transmit first data;
a processing module 602, configured to obtain indication information in the first
downlink control information, where the indication information is used to indicate
that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is a first message 3 or a second
message 3, where the first message 3 is a message 3 that does not carry user data,
and the second message 3 is a message 3 that carries the user data; or the first message
3 is a message 3 that carries user data, and the second message 3 is a message 3 that
carries the user data, in this case, a transport block size TBS used to transmit the
first message 3 is a TBS used when the communications device transmits an initial
message 3, and a TBS used to transmit the second message 3 is a TBS configured by
a network device; and
a bit length of the indication information is 1 bit; and a format of the first downlink
control information is the same as that of second downlink control information, the
second downlink control information includes scheduling information used by the terminal
device to transmit second data, and the second downlink control information does not
include the indication information; and
a sending module 603, configured to transmit the first data based on the scheduling
information and the indication information.
[0134] An embodiment of this application provides a network device. As shown in FIG. 7,
the network device 700 includes:
a processing module 702, configured to send first downlink control information by
using a sending module 701, where the first downlink control information includes
scheduling information used by a terminal device to transmit first data; and
the first downlink control information includes indication information, and the indication
information is used to indicate that the first data transmitted by the terminal device
is a first message 3 or a second message 3, where the first message 3 is a message
3 that does not carry user data, and the second message 3 is a message 3 that carries
the user data; or the first message 3 is a message 3 that carries user data, and the
second message 3 is a message 3 that carries the user data, in this case, a transport
block size TBS used to transmit the first message 3 is a TBS used when the communications
device transmits an initial message 3, and a TBS used to transmit the second message
3 is a TBS configured by the network device; and
a bit length of the indication information is 1 bit; and a format of the first downlink
control information is the same as that of second downlink control information, the
second downlink control information includes scheduling information used by the terminal
device to transmit second data, and the second downlink control information does not
include the indication information; and
the processing module 702 is configured to receive, by using the receiving module
703, the first data transmitted by the terminal device.
[0135] In some embodiments of this application,
the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement level 0 or a coverage enhancement
level 1, or in a coverage enhancement mode A;
the first downlink control information further includes a first resource allocation
field, and the first resource allocation field includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the first resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in
an uplink bandwidth, and the 4 bits in the first resource allocation field indicate
resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of the
narrowband; and the second downlink control information further includes a second
resource allocation field, and the second resource allocation field includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the second resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in
an uplink bandwidth, and the 5 bits in the second resource allocation field indicate
resource block allocation within the narrowband corresponding to the index of the
narrowband; and/or
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is H bits,
the second downlink control information further includes a second modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is H+1
bits, and H is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; and/or
the first downlink control information does not include a channel state information
CSI request field, and the second downlink control information includes the CSI request
field; and/or
the first downlink control information does not include a sounding reference signal
SRS request field, and the second downlink control information includes the SRS request
field.
[0136] In some embodiments of this application,
the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement level 2 or a coverage enhancement
level 3, or in a coverage enhancement mode B;
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is T bits,
the second downlink control information further includes a second modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the second modulation and coding scheme field is T+1
bits, and T is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.
[0137] In some embodiments of this application,
the terminal device is at a coverage enhancement level 2 or a coverage enhancement
level 3, or in a coverage enhancement mode B;
the first downlink control information further includes a first modulation and coding
scheme field, the indication information is carried by the first modulation and coding
scheme field, a bit length of the first modulation and coding scheme field is 4 bits,
and when a bit state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state in
0000 to 1010, the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the first message
3, or when a bit state of the first modulation and coding scheme field is a state
in 1011 to 1111, the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second message
3.
[0138] In some embodiments of this application,
when a bit state of the indication information is a first bit state, the terminal
device sends the second message 3 based on a first TBS, or when a bit state of the
indication information is a second bit state, the terminal device sends the first
message 3 or the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on a second TBS;
or
when a bit state of the indication information is a first bit state, the terminal
device sends the second message 3 based on a second TBS, or when a bit state of the
indication information is a second bit state, the terminal device sends the first
message 3 or the terminal device sends the second message 3 based on a first TBS,
where
the first TBS is a TBS determined based on the second TBS, and the second TBS is a
TBS configured by the network device.
[0139] In some embodiments of this application,
when the bit state of the indication information is the first bit state, a resource
allocation field in the first downlink control information includes at least

bits, where the

bits in the resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in an uplink
bandwidth, and the X bits in the resource allocation field indicate resource allocation
within the narrowband; or
when the bit state of the indication information is the second bit state, a resource
allocation field in the first downlink control information includes at least

bits, where the

6 bits in the resource allocation field indicate an index of a narrowband in an uplink
bandwidth, the first downlink control information further includes Y bits, each of
M×L states of the Y bits indicates that the first data transmitted by the terminal
device is the first message 3, and each of the M×L states of the Y bits indicates
a modulation and coding scheme and resource allocation within the narrowband, where
there are a total of M resource allocation modes of the resource allocation within
the narrowband, there are a total of L indexes of the modulation and coding scheme,
M and L are positive integers, one or more other states than the M×L states of the
Y bits indicate that the first data transmitted by the terminal device is the second
message 3.
[0140] In some embodiments of this application,
the format of the first downlink control information is a downlink control information
DCI format 6-0A; or
the format of the first downlink control information is a DCI format 6-0B.
[0141] It can be learned from the example description of this application in the foregoing
embodiment that, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information,
the first downlink control information includes the scheduling information used by
the terminal device to transmit the first data, and the second downlink control information
includes the scheduling information used by the terminal device to transmit the second
data. In addition, the first downlink control information includes the indication
information, while the second downlink control information does not include the indication
information, and the format of the first downlink control information is the same
as that of the second downlink control information. The indication information in
the first downlink control information may be used to indicate that the first data
transmitted by the terminal device is the first message 3 or the second message 3.
Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, in view of the first downlink control
information transmitted each time, it may be determined, by using the indication information,
that the transmitted first data is the first message 3 or the second message 3, and
a quantity of transmissions does not need to reach a maximum quantity of HARQ retransmissions
configured in a network. Therefore, it may be determined whether to fall back from
transmitting the second message 3 to transmitting the first message 3, so that a fallback
latency is reduced, and power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.
[0142] An embodiment of this application further provides a network device, including a
sending module and a receiving module.
[0143] The sending module is configured to send downlink control information. The downlink
control information includes scheduling information used by the terminal device to
transmit first data.
[0144] In this embodiment of this application, the network device sends the downlink control
information. The downlink control information includes the scheduling information,
and the scheduling information may be used to schedule the first data to be transmitted
by the terminal device. The first data is a message transmitted by the terminal device.
A message 3 is a third message in a random access process, and the message 3 may carry
user data. For example, the message 3 may support early data transmission. Corresponding
resources may be respectively configured for a plurality of types of messages that
can be sent by the terminal device. For example, there may be at least two different
types of messages 3 in the random access process, namely, a first message 3 and a
second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may send two different types of messages
3, and the network device may respectively configure corresponding resources for sending
different types of messages 3. For example, the first message 3 is a message 3 that
does not carry user data, and the second message 3 is a message 3 that carries the
user data. For example, the first message 3 may be a message 3 in normal transmission.
For another example, the first message 3 may be a message 3 for which data transmission
is not performed in advance. For example, the second message 3 is a message 3 for
which data transmission is performed in advance. Data herein may be service data of
the terminal device. Alternatively, the first message 3 is a message 3 that carries
the user data, the second message 3 is a message 3 that carries the user data, a transport
block size TBS used to transmit the first message 3 is a TBS used when the communications
device transmits an initial message 3, and a TBS used to transmit the second message
3 is a TBS configured by the network device.
[0145] The receiving module is configured to: when the first TBS is smaller than or equal
to the second TBS, receive the first message 3 transmitted by the terminal device;
or when the first TBS is larger than the second TBS, receive the second message 3
transmitted by the terminal device.
[0146] The second TBS is a preset transport block size, or a transport block size configured
by using system information, or a transport block size configured by using radio resource
control signaling.
[0147] An embodiment of this application further provides a terminal device, including a
receiving module, a processing module, and a sending module.
[0148] The receiving module is configured to receive downlink control information, where
the downlink control information includes scheduling information used by the terminal
device to transmit first data.
[0149] In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device first receives the downlink
control information sent by the network device. The downlink control information includes
the scheduling information, and the scheduling information may be used to schedule
the first data to be transmitted by the terminal device. The first data is a message
transmitted by the terminal device. A message 3 is a third message in a random access
process, and the message 3 may carry user data. For example, the message 3 may support
early data transmission. Corresponding resources may be respectively configured for
a plurality of types of messages that can be sent by the terminal device. For example,
there may be at least two different types of messages 3 in the random access process,
namely, a first message 3 and a second message 3. Therefore, the terminal device may
send two different types of messages 3, and the network device may respectively configure
corresponding resources for sending different types of messages 3. For example, the
first message 3 is a message 3 that does not carry user data, and the second message
3 is a message 3 that carries the user data. For example, the first message 3 may
be a message 3 in normal transmission. For another example, the first message 3 may
be a message 3 for which data transmission is not performed in advance. For example,
the second message 3 is a message 3 for which data transmission is performed in advance.
Data herein may be service data of the terminal device. Alternatively, the first message
3 is a message 3 that carries the user data, the second message 3 is a message 3 that
carries the user data, a transport block size TBS used to transmit the first message
3 is a TBS used when the communications device transmits an initial message 3, and
a TBS used to transmit the second message 3 is a TBS configured by the network device.
[0150] The processing module is configured to determine a first transport block size TBS
based on the downlink control information.
[0151] The sending module is configured to transmit the first data when the first TBS is
smaller than or equal to a second TBS, where the first data is the first message 3.
When the first TBS is larger than the second TBS, the transmitted first data is the
second message 3.
[0152] The second TBS is a preset transport block size, or a transport block size configured
by using system information, or a transport block size configured by using radio resource
control signaling.
[0153] It should be noted that content such as information exchange between the modules/units
of the apparatus and the execution processes thereof is based on the same idea as
the method embodiments of the present invention, and produces the same technical effects
as the method embodiments of the present invention. For the specific content, reference
may be made to the foregoing description in the method embodiments of the present
invention, and details are not described herein again.
[0154] An embodiment of this application further provides a computer storage medium. The
computer storage medium stores a program, and the program is executed to perform some
or all of the steps described in the foregoing method embodiments.
[0155] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another device according to an embodiment
of this application. The device is a terminal device, and the terminal device may
include a processor 131 (for example, a CPU), a memory 132, a transmitter 134, and
a receiver 133. The transmitter 134 and the receiver 133 are coupled to the processor
131, and the processor 131 controls a sending action of the transmitter 134 and a
receiving action of the receiver 133. The memory 132 may include a high-speed RAM
memory, and may further include a nonvolatile memory NVM, for example, at least one
magnetic disk memory. The memory 132 may store various instructions, to complete various
processing functions and implement the method steps in the embodiments of this application.
Optionally, the terminal device in this embodiment of this application may further
include one or more of a power supply 135, a communications bus 136, and a communications
port 137. The receiver 133 and the transmitter 134 may be integrated into a transceiver
of the terminal device, or may be a receive antenna and a transmit antenna that are
independent of each other on the terminal device. The communications bus 136 is configured
to implement communication connections between the components. The communications
port 137 is configured to implement connection and communication between the terminal
device and another peripheral.
[0156] In this embodiment of this application, the memory 132 is configured to store computer-executable
program code, and the program code includes an instruction. When the processor 131
executes the instruction, the instruction enables the processor 131 to perform a processing
action of the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments, and enables the
transmitter 134 to perform a sending action of the terminal device in the foregoing
method embodiments. Their implementation principles and technical effects are similar.
Details are not described herein again.
[0157] FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another device according to an embodiment
of this application. The device is a network device, and the network device may include
a processor 141 (for example, a CPU), a memory 142, a receiver 143, and a transmitter
144. The receiver 143 and the transmitter 144 are coupled to the processor 141, and
the processor 141 controls a receiving action of the receiver 143 and a sending action
of the transmitter 144. The memory 142 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may
further include a nonvolatile memory NVM, for example, at least one magnetic disk
memory. The memory 142 may store various instructions, to complete various processing
functions and implement the method steps in the embodiments of this application. Optionally,
the network device in this embodiment of this application may further include one
or more of a power supply 145, a communications bus 146, and a communications port
147. The receiver 143 and the transmitter 144 may be integrated into a transceiver
of the network device, or may be a receive antenna and a transmit antenna that are
independent of each other on the network device. The communications bus 146 is configured
to implement communication connections between the components. The communications
port 147 is configured to implement connection and communication between the network
device and another peripheral.
[0158] In this embodiment of this application, the memory 142 is configured to store computer-executable
program code, and the program code includes an instruction. When the processor 141
executes the instruction, the instruction enables the processor 141 to perform a processing
action of the network device in the foregoing method embodiments, and enables the
transmitter 144 to perform a sending action of the network device in the foregoing
method embodiments. Their implementation principles and technical effects are similar.
Details are not described herein again.
[0159] In another possible design, when the apparatus is a chip in a terminal, the chip
includes a processing unit and a communications unit. The processing unit may be,
for example, a processor. The communications unit may be, for example, an input/output
interface, a pin, or a circuit. The processing unit may execute a computer-executable
instruction stored in a storage unit, to enable the chip in the terminal to perform
the wireless communication method according to any design of the first aspect. Optionally,
the storage unit may be a storage unit in the chip, such as a register or a buffer,
or the storage unit may be a storage unit in the terminal but outside the chip, such
as a read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), another type of static storage device
capable of storing static information and instructions, or a random access memory
(random access memory, RAM).
[0160] The processor mentioned anywhere above may be a general-purpose central processing
unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (application-specific
integrated circuit, ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling program
execution of the wireless communication method according to the first aspect.
[0161] In addition, it should be noted that the apparatus embodiments described above are
merely examples. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically
separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located
in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all
of the modules may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives
of the solutions of the embodiments. In addition, in the accompanying drawings of
the apparatus embodiments provided in this application, connection relationships between
modules indicate that the modules have communication connections with each other,
which may be specifically implemented as one or more communications buses or signal
cables. A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand and implement the embodiments
of the present invention without creative efforts. Based on the descriptions of the
foregoing implementations, a person skilled in the art may clearly understand that
this application may be implemented by software in addition to necessary universal
hardware, or by special-purpose hardware, including a dedicated integrated circuit,
a dedicated CPU, a dedicated memory, a dedicated component, and the like. Generally,
any functions that can be performed by a computer program can be easily implemented
by corresponding hardware. Moreover, a specific hardware structure used to achieve
a same function may be of various forms, for example, in a form of an analog circuit,
a digital circuit, a dedicated circuit. However, as for this application, a software
program implementation is a better implementation in most cases. Based on such an
understanding, the technical solutions of this application essentially or the part
contributing to the prior art may be implemented in a form of a software product.
The computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy
disk, a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only
Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or a
compact disc of a computer, and includes several instructions for instructing a computer
device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like)
to perform the methods described in the embodiments of this application.
[0162] All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented through software, hardware,
firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments,
the embodiments may be implemented all or partially in a form of a computer program
product.
[0163] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the
computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedure
or functions according to the embodiments of this application are all or partially
generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer,
a computer network, or other programmable apparatuses. The computer instructions may
be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or may be transmitted from a computer-readable
storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer
instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to
another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial
cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example,
infrared, radio, or microwave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be
any usable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server
or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a
magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an
optical medium (for example, a DVD), a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid
state disk Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.